Sean McVay says former Ravens S Eric Weddle would make a great coach

The Baltimore Ravens have had plenty of extremely smart football players play for their organization over the years. High football intelligence is something that the team values immensely, and it shows when players on both sides of the ball are asked to be a part of a complex system that requires a lot of football awareness as well as overall knowledge of the game.

When asked about which of the players he’s coached would make good coaches themselves in their post-playing careers by a listener of the “Flying Coach” podcast, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay highlighted a few options, including former Ravens safety Eric Weddle, who played for McVay in Los Angeles during his final season in the NFL.

“Couple guys that I think would make seamless transitions. When we first got here, a guy we put a lot on his shoulders who was so smart – if he wanted to, I think that John Sullivan would make a great coach. I think I learned so much from him. Feel the same way about Eric Weddle.”

McVay also compared former Rams safety John Johnson III to Weddle, saying that they have a lot of similar characteristics.

“But if I were to say a couple guys that you’ve really been around, here’s the guys that I would really say just in the short amount of time the four years that I’ve been a head coach. John Sullivan and Eric Weddle are unbelievably smart players. I think John Johnson, who’s going onto the Browns, is in that same sort of mold as what Eric is. Great communicators, charisma, presence. I think John Johnson would be outstanding.”

Last year, Weddle spoke to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, who revealed that he’d seemingly be open to scouting for the Ravens on the west coast and even possibly coaching down the road, but said he wouldn’t consider the latter for at least “a year or two” because he was enjoying retirement so much.

Any team would be lucky to have Weddle as a coach. However, since Weddle and his family do live on the west coast, it would be a big commitment for him to move back to a place like Baltimore and take on a new in-person role within the organization. However, if he did decide to enter the coaching field and the Ravens were the team that he chose, there’s no doubt that his experience, intelligence, leadership, and infectious personality would be welcome back into Charm City with open arms.